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computerwriter.com
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More Spam (typical, eh?)Toronto Star Fast Forward column for Oct 16/97 Back to White Pages main article index © Copyright, Myles White, 1997 My double column (October 2 and 9) on Spam - unwanted, unsolicited, electronic junk mail -- and some solutions for it, drew several responses from loyal Computer Wares readers. Most of them were, in one way or another, also quoting the gang at Monty Python, "But I don't like spam." One letter was from D'Arcy J. M. Cain (darcy@vex.net) noting that his company was providing Web hosting for others and had a quite vigorous anti-spam policy as well as software they run to back up their dislike of it. Another was from my colleague at 680 Radio News, Bob Pritchard (the Computer Insider), bringing me up to date on the fate of Cyber Promotions Inc., one of the more egregious generators of Spam, and its on-again, off-again battles not to be kicked out of its Service Provider's fold. Cyber Promotions daily sends out millions of unsolicited junk e-mail messages. Both the company and its president, the self-styled Spam King, Sanford Wallace (known to friends and enemies alike as "Spamford"), had been booted off Sprint and WorldCom Inc. earlier this year. However, when Dearborn, Michigan-based Apex Global Internet Services Inc. (AGIS), tried the same thing during the week of September 25, Spamford went to court. On October 1, a US federal judge ordered AGIS to let him back online, at least until October 16. In the meantime, AGIS CEO, Phillip Lawlor, has apologized to all Netizens for allowing Cyber Promotions to use his site and has begged the community not to deluge the company with anti-spam retialiatory notes at least until the company can decide what to do about it. At the same time, AGIS also cancelled other bulk mailers' accounts. Spamford is crying the blues. Apparently, he'd lined up a few other ISPs to host his account as a backup, but they too cancelled. Aw, shucks. Too bad. Last, but by no means least, both Mark Rosseau (markr@encode.com) and Alan Clark (aclark@iaw.on.ca) wrote to tell me about a rabid-anti spam site containing free software designed not only to block spam, but to track down its actual point of origin and fire back various messages to register your disapproval. The site at http://www.compulink.co.uk/~net-services/spam/ has a program called Spam Hater 2.04. Among other tricks, Spam Hater analyzes the offending message(s) and extracts a list of addresses of relevant postmasters. It then prepares a reply (with your choice of legal threats, insults or your own message) and appends a copy of the spam if required. It then puts the reply in a mail window ready for sending (or editing). Spam Hater then generates the Internet "WHOIS" query to help track the perpetrator, generates a "TRACEROUTE" query to help track the perpetrator's upstream provider, and it will do both online if your browser software supports the service. Have you been nuked?Don't ask me where I was hiding through the late spring/early summer period, but because I never participate in Internet Relay Chat sessions, I completely missed the WinNuke problem. WinNuke and a few similar applications are programs that allow nutcases to attack people in IRC "chat" rooms. The attack exploits a flaw in both the Windows 95 and Windows NT (3.51 and 4.0) version of Winsock known as the Windows Out of Band (or WinOOB) bug. Without making you crazy about what the WinOOB bug does, a WinNuker can bring a Windows user's system to a dead halt until it is re-booted (but only if IRC chat is engaged). While there haven't so far been similar programs that allow attacks on Mac or UNIX systems, at least one version of WinNuke allows Mac users to target Windows systems (nasty). Fortunately, to counter the jerks who delight in this stupid behaviour, there are people who balance out the equation. Several solutions to the WinNuke bug abound, but one of the better collections of them can be found at http://www.windowscentral.com/features/reports/bugs/winoob where you can find out more about the Windows Out of Band bug, get a Microsoft patch that prevents it from being activated on your machine, and choose from several "port sniffers" designed to detect who is trying to nuke you. By the way, Windows Central, also known as My Desktop, also has a very good collection of additional patches, fixes and shareware/freeware utilities to get the most out of both Win95 and NT. Does electric soap have digital bubbles?At an Intel event a couple of weeks ago, I was talking to Julie Rusciolelli, the tireless public relations maven from Cohn and Wolfe who bites journalists when they step out of line at press conferences. Don't ask why, but we were discussing the relative job market in her line of work (no, not because I wanted to join it) and Julie observed that while there were lots of positions in the high-tech end of her business, more traditional sources were drying up. As examples, she mentioned a couple of the big soap/shampoo/costmetics companies that once poured millions into the public relations/promotions sector. "Perhaps," I said with a grin, "they need to expand their product lines into digital products." That did it. We were off. We had so much fun, I thought (given that Fall has arrived and darkness will soon descend) that I'd share the results. For instance... Digital soap on a rope: Not only can it tell automatically which parts of you are dirtier than others, but there is a special junior package for parents. All you have to do is to send the kids to the washroom. Once within sensing range, the soap will begin (in a programmed voice that can sound just like mom or dad) to issue instructions: "Turn the water ON. Check the temperature. Get IN the shower. Use the SOAP. Wash yourself ALL over. Turn the water OFF. Dry yourself WITH a towel. Do not flick your (brother, sister, the cat) with the towel...." Electric Shampoo: Never mind regular shampoo. Forget all about real poo. New, electric shampoo is for you (catchy jingle, eh?). Electric shampoo automatically senses how much is left in the bottle and alerts you one wash before you run out to get more. Like its companion product, Electric Conditioner, it knows which part of your hair needs more or less attention and produces a pleasant tingle in your fingers when they're in the right place. Note: under certain lighting conditions, electric shampoo may cause your hair to glow. Cyberstick: Forget about lipstick that won't rub off. You'll never need to fish in your purse for that lost tube again. You can change outfits several times a day and never need to reapply your lipstick. New, advanced Cyberstick rests next to your bed. Using advanced robotics and uniquely designed cybercircuitry, Cyberstick crawls onto your face just before you wake up and applies itself! Not satisfied with the colour? Simply log onto cyberstick.com, hold your lips up to your screen and choose from thousands of shades exclusively at our website! Cyberstick can be any colour you want with a flick of the mouse! RoboBrush: Tired of doing that hundred strokes a night on your hair? Weary of snags? Simply plug RoboBrush into your PC's serial port and tell it what you want it to do. Gentle fingers massage your scalp, comb your hair, and take the pain out of snaggles. Our new Deluxe model will even sense which hairs to pull and which to leave alone (your choice of normal, grey or bald looks when you're done). Binary String: Amazing new product of the electronic age, Binary String can be used to measure any object. Simply place one of its two ends where you want to begin and place the other where you wish to end up. It's Magic. Together with the Exclusive Binary String measuring system (sold separately), you can instantly tell how long your Binary String is at any time. Stores easily. Lightweight. Comes in Designer White. (Batteries not included). This document is protected by international copyright. That means you can read it, download it, set a link to it and even print it. However, you must not make copies for your friends, make copies for your class, post it at your Website, send it to someone else's Website, or quote all or any part of it in any other medium for any reason whatsoever unless you ask me first. Okay? |
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